IWU's play speaks for itself

Sean Conley is tied for the
team lead with five touchdowns.
IWU photo by Marc Featherly

Veteran Illinois Wesleyan coach Norm Eash said he did not feel
disrespected earlier this season when his Titans received little,
if any, attention from Top 25 voters.

Illinois Wesleyan had nearly its entire defense returning from a
7-3 team last year and a squad that reached the second round of the
playoffs in 2009. The Titans received only six votes the week it
took on nationally ranked Wheaton in the College Conference of
Illinois and Wisconsin opener.

“I’ve been around long enough where that
doesn’t bother me or us,” Eash said. “You have to
gain the respect of people. I think sometimes people are really
fond of Wheaton and North Central, but our league has other good
teams and we happen to be one of them. We’ll make our
statement through our play.”

The undefeated Titans (5-0, 2-0 in CCIW) have done just that,
beating Wheaton two weeks ago 24-19 and this past Saturday whipping
North Park 42-3.

The IWU
file

Here's what the Titans' resume looked like before they played
Wheaton:

Opponent

Record

Who'd they beat?

Hope

2-2

Wis. Lutheran (1-2)
Lakeland (0-3)

Alma

1-3

Rockford (0-3)

Aurora

1-2

MacMurray (0-3)

Illinois Wesleyan is now getting plenty of attention, ranked No.
16 nationally, a notch ahead of Wheaton. The Titans are 10 spots
behind fellow CCIW rival North Central, which they will play at
home on Oct. 22.

While Illinois Wesleyan is now on the Division III playoff
radar, Eash said the last thing his team wants to do is get ahead
of itself or everything they’ve worked for at this point can
be wiped out. The Titans travel to Elmhurst (3-2, 1-1) on Saturday
and Eash said that is the only game he and his team are thinking
about.

"I've been in the CCIW for 25 years and I know what the league
is all about and you can’t look by anybody,” Eash said.
“Elmhurst is a team I highly respect and I told our players I
thought Elmhurst would be our toughest ballgame.”

Illinois Wesleyan has proven to this point to be up to the
challenge. No one is surprised by the Titans' defense with 10
returning starters. IWU is giving up a stingy 6.2 points per game.
It held Wheaton to its lowest point total of the year.

The Titans defense is led by senior linebacker Ben Houk, who has
44 tackles so far, seven of those for losses. He’s leading
the team in both categories. Eash said, though, there were a number
of question marks on offense.

“We knew we were going to have a real solid club,”
Eash said. We thought we would be a team that would challenge for
the conference championship, but we needed some young kids on
offense to come on pretty strong and that has happened.
That’s the reason we’re undefeated so far.”

Sophomore quarterback Rob Gallik is completing 67.6 percent of
his passes this season (92-135-5) and has thrown for eight
touchdowns, while averaging 233 passing yards per contest.
Sophomore tailback T.J. Stinde, is averaging 84.7 yards per game,
giving the Titans some punch on the ground.

“We also have sophomores on the offensive line,”
Eash said. “I think our kids have a lot of confidence and we
knew our defense would be very strong. The key to beating Wheaton
was taking control of the ballgame and set the tempo. We were able
to do to them what they usually do to other people. We came out
strong and got up on them 17-3 and that was the key to the
game.”

Eash said while the Wheaton victory was important, it’s
also a game that’s been played and behind them. He said
Titans will have to play consistently enough to produce the same
results over the next five weeks to win the CCIW title.

“It’s a great privilege to be where we’re
at,” Eash said. “We’ve got five tough games left
to play. We just have to take care of business. We can’t look
by anyone. Elmhurst is dangerous and we respect them. Any team in
the CCIW with one lost plays like their backs are against the wall
because two losses in our league and you take yourself out of the
championship race.”

Borsellino churning out yardage

Benedictine’s John Borsellino entered last week’s
game ranked No. 3 in the country in all-purpose yardage. He did not
hurt his cause in a 26-19 victory over Aurora, rushing for 98 yards
and returning a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown. The effort helped
Benedictine (3-2, 2-0 in Northern Athletics Conference) erase a
16-0 halftime deficit for the victory.

Hanover hanging in there

After an opening loss to Rose-Hulman, Hanover has won two
straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference games for a 3-1
league record. That places the Panthers one game behind rival and
No. 22-ranked Franklin (5-1, 4-0). If Hanover (3-3, 3-1) and
Franklin win out, the annual Victory Bell Game at Hanover will have
extra meaning because it will be for the HCAC championship as well.
It’s a nice turnaround for the Panthers, who lost
All-American wide receiver Daniel Passafiume before the season
started and lost their first two games.

Game of the Week

Benedictine (3-2, 2-0) vs. Concordia, Wis. (2-3,
2-0): Benedictine, Concordia (Wis.) and Lakeland
(2-3, 2-0) are all tied at 2-0 on top of the NATHC. Benedictine,
after defeating the two preseason conference favorites in
consecutive weeks (Concordia, Ill, and Aurora), the Eagles can take
another big step to defending its title in beating a Falcons team
that has bounced back from a 0-3 start.

Clyde Hughes has been writing sports at various times over the past 24 years, covering everything from high school, college and sporting events. A native of football-crazed Texas, Hughes works in Indiana and has written for numerous newspapers and magazines.2003-04 columnist: John Regenfuss